Powerful thruster method and apparatus suitable for driving a member such as an anchor or pile into the earth, and anchoring and pile apparatus

ABSTRACT

A novel thruster method and apparatus generating a sequence of powerful thrusts suitable for driving an anchor, a pile, or the like into the earth. A novel anchor, anchor placing apparatus and pile driver are described. An acoustic impulse repeater device is located within a reaction barrel to rapidly upwardly impel water therefrom. In the case of the anchor placing apparatus the reaction of the barrel rams an anchor and the anchor chain attached to it into sediment below a body of water. In the pile driver embodiment, the pile has taken the shape of the reaction barrel into which water is placed. Various embodiments are described.

United States Patent [191 Chelminski N a [111 3,750,609 Aug. 7, 1973POWERFUL TIIRUSTER METHOD AND APPARATUS SUITABLE FOR DRIVING A MEMBERSUCH AS AN ANCHOR OR PILE INTO THE EARTH, AND ANCHORING AND PILEAPPARATUS [75] Inventor: Stephen V. Chelminski, West Redding, Conn.

[73] Assignee: Bolt Associates, Inc., Norwalk, Conn.

[22] Filed: Aug. 28, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 67,953

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 799,449, Feb.14, 1969, Pat. No.

Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assistant Examiner-Galen L. BarefootAttorney-Bryan, Parmelee, Johnson & Bollinger [5 7 ABSTRACT A novelthruster method and apparatus generating a sequence of powerful thrustssuitable for driving an anchor, a pile, or the like into the earth. Anovel anchor, anchor placing apparatus and pile driver are described. Anacoustic impulse repeater device is located within a reaction barrel torapidly upwardly impel water therefrom. 1n the case of the anchorplacing apparatus the reaction of the barrel rams an anchor and theanchor chain attached to it into sediment below a body of water. 1n thepile driver embodiment, the pile has taken the shape of the reactionbarrel into which water is placed. Various embodiments are described.

8 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTUJ F313 7 I973 SHEET 1 BF 5 INVENIOR.(7162mm sh PRESSURE [HR POWERFUL THRUSTER METHOD AND APPARATUS SUITABLEFOR DRIVING A MEMBER SUCH AS AN ANCHOR OR PILE INTO THE EARTH, ANDANCHORING AND PILE APPARATUS The present application is a divisionalapplication of parent application Ser. No. 799,449 filed on Feb. 14,1969 (now US. Pat. No. 3,604,5l9 issued Sept. 14, 1971 with respect towhich a requirement for restriction was made.

This invention relates to powerful thruster method and apparatussuitable for the submergence of amember into soil generally. Morespecifically this invention relates to a novel method and an apparatusgenerating a sequence of powerful thrusts capable of driving an anchor,a pile, or the like for submerging them into the earth and relates tonovel anchoring and pile apparatus.

In the anchoring of structures over water difficulties are encounteredin the installation of suitable anchoring devices. For instance, in theemployment of platforms for the drilling of off-shore located oil,expensive and structurally complex piles are used. These underwaterpiles usually require that one firmly seat several concrete filled metalcasings into the sediment. The filled casings must have sufficientrigidity to both support the platform and withstand the immense side.forces induced by the flow of water from waves and currents.Conventional underwater piles have massive dimensions and are difficultand expensive to install. Consequently, the exploration of off-shore oilinvolves huge initial expenditures just to erect a suitable platformfrom where experimental drilling operations may be conducted.

A main function ofa platform is to provide a fixed lo cation over thesediment for the drilling operation. Temporary drilling operations canbe conducted from a floating ship provided its location over thesediment can be held. Conventional anchors, however, have a tendency todrag across the sediment, and do not provide a sufficiently reliablehold to justify risking the breaking of temporary drilled pipe byexcessive movement of the ship.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a powerfulthruster method and apparatus capable of driving a permanent anchor intothe sediment.

Another object is to provide a novel permanent anchor apparatus.

It is further an object of this invention to provide. an inexpensiveanchor which remains at a fixed location.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple easilymanipulatable anchor installing apparatUS.

It is still further an object of this invention to provide an anchorinstalling apparatus which is suitable for use under water and is notdepth limited.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method forinstalling an anchor within the sediment underlying a body of water inan economic and simple manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide method andapparatus generating a sequence of powerful thrusts capable of drivinghollow piles on land or submerged beneath the sea.

The conventional hollow cylindrical pile is placed into the soil undercompression as a result of the action by the ram. The pile itself,therefore, must have sufficient wall thickness to withstand the actionof the ram. Such wall usually has a thickness larger than that necessaryfor the structure supporting function of the pile and in this senseinvolves a waste of material.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel piledriving apparatus.

It is further an object of this invention to provide a novel economicalpile for supporting a structure.

It is still further an object of this invention to provide a novel piledriving apparatus which operates quietly, with low vibration levels andeconomically.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel pile driverfor installing a pile into soil in tension.

These objects are accomplished by my invention, several embodiments ofwhich are described as follows in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional, broken, frontal view in elevation of anapparatus employed for the submergence of an anchor in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial broken sectional view along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional and side view taken along the line 4-4 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 isa sectional view of an anchor taken along the line 5-5 of FIG.1;

FIG. 6 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 as it is lowered towards thesediment below a body of water;

FIG. 7 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. I in position on the sedimentbelow a body of water;

FIG. 8 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. I after an anchor has beensubmerged into the sediment;

FIG. 9 is a view of an anchor installed within the sediment with ananchor chain attached thereto;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of still another anchor in accordance withmy invention;

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional and side view in eleva tion of a piledriver apparatus in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 11A shows an enlargement of the bottom end portion of the hollowpile apparatus; and

FIG. 12 is a view in elevation of an underwater pile driving apparatusin accordance with my invention.

In the simplest sense my invention contemplates the generation ofrapidly repeating acoustic impulses with in a reaction barrel containinga substantially incompressible fluid to produce powerful thrusts formoving the reaction barrel.

My invention contemplates a powerful thruster method and apparatusgenerating asequence of powerful thrusts in a controlled-manner andhaving great force capable of driving a member down deeply into theearth. This invention contemplates the installation of an anchor whichis completely submerged within soil. The apparatus which my inventioncontemplates for driving of the anchor down into sediment comprises areaction barrel, a ram connected to the reaction barrel and operativelycoupled to the anchor, and an acoustic impulse producing device locatedwithin the barrel for ejecting substantially incompressible fluid fromthe barrel to drive the ram and anchor within the sediment. My inventionfurther contemplates a novel method for installing an anchor byattaching an anchor line to a sediment submergible anchor and drivingthe anchor completely within the sediment down to a desired depththereof.

in the driving of piles for buildings the conventional pile driversemploy a massive ram that repeatedly acts on a pile to drive it into thesoil down to bedrock. The operation of a pile driver is noisy and slow.The vibrations from a conventional pile driver carry to neighboringstructures and under some circumstances cannot be tolerated lest theadjacent structures be damaged.

My invention thus further contemplates a novel pile driver apparatuswherein a hollow pile having a closed bottom end is provided with asubstantially incompressible fluid within the hollow of the pile. Anacoustic impulse producing device is placed within the hollow of thepile in the vicinity of the bottom end and is repeatedly actuated toforce the fluid upwardly and in reaction generates a sequence ofpowerful thrusts to drive the pile downwardly into soil.

With reference to FIG. 1, I show an embodiment of the powerful thrustermethod and apparatus of the present invention, in the form of an anchorplacing apparatus shown generally at 10. The anchor placing apparatus 10includes a reaction barrel 12 which is connected to a ram 14 having atthe reaction barrel end a bore 16 (not visible in the view of FIG. 1 andshown in FIG. 3). The reaction barrel 12 has a top opening 17 forreceiving an acoustic impulse repeater device 18 which at the bottom endis provided with a depending slide rod member 20 which tits in a slidingmanner through an opening of the bottom of the barrel 12 into the bore16 of the ram 14. The depending rod 20 is provided at the bottom endthereof with an enlarged stop 22. The ram 14 slidingly connects to guidemeans shown as a pedestal or tripod at 24 and passes through a guidingsleeve 26 to thereafter engage in a socket 27 in an anchor 28 in theshape of a disc. The ram 14 is held to the anchor 28 by disconnectionmeans such as a pair of. retainer tabs 29-29 which are easily fracturedfor release of the ram from the anchor after the latter has been rammedinto the sediment. An anchor line 30, which may be a chain or cable orthe like, is

shown connected to an eye bolt 32 on the anchor 28 and is releasablyretained by suitable retainer means 34 connected to the reaction barrel.2

The anchor placing apparatus 10 drives the anchor 28 into the sedimentwith the anchor in an orientation that presents a minimum resistance tosubmergence. The anchor line is, therefore, so attached to the anchor 28that tensile anchor forces cooperate to reorient the anchor 28 to facethe anchor with its largest surface area towards the chain. Accordingly,the line 30 is attached to the anchor in a manner which is eccentric forall anchor orientations except the orientation providing the greatestresistance to anchor emergence from the sediment. In this manner astable anchor orientation coincides with the desired maximum anchoringstrength. The anchoring strength of a fourteen inch diameter anchor discsubmerged into 20 feet of sediment is immense, even when subjected to adirect vertical pull on the anchor line.

The acoustic impulse repeater device 18 is of the type as described inmy U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,128 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,273. The repeaterdevice 18 operates by periodically suddenly releasing under remotecontrol a charge of highly compressed air. The air for this purpose issupplied through a hose 36 andthe electrical solenoid valve mechanism istriggered at spaced time intervals through a control cable 38. Ahoisting cable 40 for the anchor placing apparatus is attached to theacoustic repeater device 18.

The guide pedestal 24 comprises a conventional sturdy tripod, twosupportinglegs 42--42' are visible in the view of FIG. 1. The primaryfunction of the pedestal 24 is to orient the guiding sleeve 26 generallyat the sediment upon which the pedestal rests. The ram 14 moves freelyand slidingly within the guiding sleeve 26 under action by the reactionbarrel 12 and the repeater device 18 as will be explained.

The anchor line retainer means 34 is shown with greater detail in FIG. 2wherein the anchor chain 30 is threaded between a pair of brackets 4444'attached to the reaction barrel l2 and is trapped between the brackets44-44 by a retractable spring loaded shaft 46 and piston 47. The spacewithin the cylinder 49 behind the piston 47 is connected to the air line36. When the anchor driving operation is completed, the air pressure inline 36 is bled off, allowing the spring to retract the piston 47 andshaft 46, thus releasing the anchor line 30. The retainer means 34permits the raising of the anchor placing apparatus 10 free from theanchor line30 without entanglement of the cable 40 with the line 30.

FIG. 3 in addition to its more detailed sectional view alsoschematically illustrates the powerful thruster method. The acousticrepeater 18 is freely positioned on the bottom 48 of the reaction barrel12 coming to rest by its own weight, and is energized by remote controlto suddenly release its charge of high pressure compressed air. Thepressure" from the air is so violent that it ejects an incompressiblefluid such as water 50 through the top opening 17 thereof. The rapidejection or impelling of the upwardly moving water involves a powerfulreaction on the reaction barrel in a direction indicated by the arrows52, thus driving the ram 14 and operatively-connected anchor 28 into thesediment. The penetration of the anchor 28 and the ram 14 during eachthrust into the sediment is a function of the air pressure and volumebeing abruptly released and of the cross sectional area and length ofthe reaction barrel and is affected by the density of the sediment. Theacoustic impulse repeater device is quickly recharged, within seconds,to enable it with'repeated sudden air discharges to drive the anchor 28and ram 14 into the sediment. This thruster action moves the anchor 28by small increments into the sediment.

The repeater device 18 is slidingly mounted to the reaction barrel sothat it can be raised completely out of the reaction barrel for testingunderwater during lowering as shown in FIG. 6. When the repeater deviceis moved out of the barrel, the depending rod member 20 by use of itsend stop 22 prevents the escape of the repeater device from the reactionbarrel. The position of the stop 22 opposite the opening in the bottom48 of the reaction barrel I2 is illustrated by the dashed line 54 inFIG. 3.

In FIG. 4 the anchor 28 is shown, provided at its center extending fromone surface 56 with eye bolt 32 for linkage with the anchor line 30. Thebottom end 58 of the ram socket 27 in the anchor is chamfered tofacilitate submergence of the anchor 28 into the sediment. The ram 14fits within this socket 27 which is preferably located along a radialline or diameter of the discshaped anchor 28. The anchor is held to theram 14 by breakable tabs 29-29, (only 29' being visible in the view ofFIG. 4). Other temporary retaining meansmay be employed to hold theanchor to the ram as long as the ram 14 may be easily disengaged fromthe anchor 28 after the anchor has been submerged.

The view of FIG. 4 illustrates the eccentric mounting of the eye bolt 32relative to the anchor surface 56. A pulling force on the anchor lineacting in the direction of arrow 62 will tend to rotate the anchor 28.In view of the small eccentricity of the applied force, i.e. the off-setof the force from the surface 56 (the height h of the eye bolt 32 abovethe central plane of the anchor 28) a small moment arm is produced. Thismoment arm, h, is sufficient to cause an initial rotation of the anchor28 and this rotation is quickly accelerated until the moment is reducedto zero when the surface 56 is substantially transverse to the anchorchain 30. With the surface 56 transverse to the chain 30 maximum anchorstrenght is obtained.

FIG. illustrates another method for attaching the anchor chain 30 to ananchor 28. Three peripheral located apertures 64, 64' and 64" are formedin the anchor 28' at equiangular locations. If desired, these aperturesmay be replaced with three eye bolts like that used with anchor 28 ofFIG. 1. Three chains, 66, 66 and 66" of equal length have one endconnected to a ring 68 to form a common junction. The other ends of thechains engage the several apertures 64, 64 and 64". The anchor cable 30is also connected to the ring so that upon the application of a pullingforce on the line, again an eccentric moment rotates the anchor 28. Theanchor 28' rotates until its surface 56' is so oriented that an equaltensile force is applied to each of the chains 66, 66 and 66". Thisequal force condition corresponds with the maximum anchoring strenth,i.e. with surface 56' substantially transverse to the anchor chain 30.Note especially that the anchor of FIG. 10 is fully submerged insediment including the anchor chain attaching devices such as chains 66,66' and 66" and ring 68.

The insertion of the anchor 28 into sediment is preferably accomplishedby orienting the anchor 28 as shown in FIG. 1. This orientation presentsthe smallest crossectional area in the ramming direction; thusfacillitating submergence of the anchor. The chamfered edge 58 of theanchor further enchances the installation of the anchor. To furtherreduce the crossectional area of the anchor during installation it isshaped in the form of a flat plate with an enlarged central section forreceiving the ram 14. FIG. 5 clearly shows this construction. The anchoris formed of a generally flat plate which is provided with an enlargedlongitudinal hollow cylindrical central section 70. The ram 14 fitswithin the bore 27 of the hollow central section 70. The bottom end ofthe cylindrical section 70 is chamfered as is visible in the view ofFIG. I at 72.

FIG. 6 illustrates the position of the anchor placing apparatus 10during the lowering thereof from a ship towards the sediment below abody of water. The depending member coupled to the acoustic impulserepeater 18 permits the latter to be raised out of the reaction barrel12 for general exploratory use or for precise locating of the apparatus10 during descent. With the repeater in its extended position as in FIG.6, the downward progress of the apparatus 10 may be accurately tracked.In FIG. 7 the anchoring apparatus is shown positioned on the bottom andby its own weight the repeater 18 has not dropped down to the bottom ofthe reaction barrel 12.

FIG. 8 illustrates the positioning of the anchor 28 down to a desireddepth location within the sediment. The ram 18 has been extended intothe sediment and may now be released from the anchor 28. The release maybe accomplished by simply withdrawing the ram by the lifting of theanchoring apparatus thereby breaking the tabs 2929'. In any event, uponthe release of the anchoring apparatus 10 from the anchor 28 and releaseof the anchor line retainer means 34, the apparatus 10 is raised and theanchor is ready for use.

FIG. 9 illustrates the anchor 28 in its load carrying position. Notethat the anchor 28 has rotated to present its large surface 56substantially transverse to the anchor chain 30. This rotation isaccompanied by a slight raising of the anchor, but not enough to beconcerned about. As previously described this rotation is primarilyattributable to the eccentrically located eye bolt 32 to which the chain30 is connected.

FIG. ll illustrates another embodiment of the powerful thruster methodand apparatus for driving a pile employing the principles similar tothose previously described with the anchoring apparatus. A hollow pile74 is shown partially submerged into soil 76 with a pile guiding vehicle78 for both providing guidance of the pile 74 (which may be as high as200 feet) and control of the apparatus used to drive the pile into thesoil.

The pile is a hollow cylindrical member having a bore 79 extending fromits open top end 80 and having a bottom closure or cap 82. The bottomend of the pile 74is provided with a point 84 to enhance entry of thepile into the soil. An acoustic impulse repeater device 86 is positionedon the bottom closure 82 of the bore. The repeater device 86 is held atthe center of the bore 79 by three radially and upwardlyextending'spring bars 88 evenly distributed on the upper periphery ofthe repeater device. Only two of the spring bars88 are visible in theview of FIG. 11. The spring bars 88 contact the wall of the bore 79 withrollers 90. A hoisting and control cable 92 connects the repeater device86 to the vehicle 78.

The vehicle 78 is provided with a retractable jack 94 to stabilize aplatform 96. On the platform 96 rests a rig post 98 and the peripheralcontrol equipment such as an air pump 100, water pump source 102, andcontrol box 104. The upper part of the rig post 98 is provided with across beam 106 which extends over the bore 74 of the pile 74.

A water hose 108 is connected to the water pump source 102 and is feddown the bore 79 to come to rest in the vicinity of the repeater 86 butstill sufficiently spaced to avoid impacts between them during theoperation of the pile driver. The hose supplies enough water to fill thebore 79 to a level at 1110. This level preferably is sufficiently belowthe top to prevent ejection and loss of water during operations. It isrecognized however that such water loss may not always be avoidable, asfor instance with short piles. Generally midway of the rig post 98 is apile guide sleeve 112 which encloses the pile 74 with sufficient radialplay to slidingly support and guide the pile.

The operation of the pile driver is essentially like that of thereaction barrel of FIG. 1. The entire pile 74 acts as a reaction barrel.The release of the compressed air stored within the repeater device 86violently forces the water upwardly and in reaction drives the pile 74downwardly. The pile is advantageously suitable for this method ofdriving since its length permits a" large head of water to be forcedupwardly. The hose 108 antomatically replaces any water lost through theopening 80 by the pile driving operation.

With the insertion of the pile 74 with the apparatus of FIG. 11, theforce applied to the pile is at its bottom tip 84. This assures that thepile is driven into the soil by tension and permits the utilization of asmaller wall thickness than that needed for piles driven into the soilby conventional ram type pile drivers, thus being more economical ofmaterial. After the pile has been driven, the repeater 86 is removedfrom the piie, and the pile may be filled with concrete if desired.Thus, the thinner wall section does not adversely affect the loadbearing strength because the concrete core bears much of the load.

In the event one desires to utilize conventional piles for the supportof a sea platform, pier or the like the installation of the piles is ahuge complicated engineering task. The sea-platform is difficult toinstall and commonly requires deep sea divers to supervise and aid inthe erection of the piling support of the platform. My invention isadvantageously suited for the installation of underwater piles.

FIG. 12 illustrates a novel underwater pile driving apparatus whichincorporates features of FIG. 1 and FIG. 11. A ship is shown temporarilyanchored over a selected location over the sediment. A crane 114 on theship is attached to a hollow steel pile 74 with a releasable loweringcable 116. The hollow steel pile 74 is as shown in FIG. 11 and isslidingly supported in a vertical position over the sediment by use of atripod 118. The

tripod 118 has several guiding sleeves 120120' to maintain the pile inan upright position. The pile 74 has a bore 79 which is closed at 82.Within the bore 79 near the bottom 82 is an acoustic impulse repeater 86which for clarity purposes is shown without the centering bars 88 ofFIG. 11. A cable 92, composed of an air line and an electrical controlline for repeater air recharge and control thereof, is shown connectedto shipboard control equipment which includes a compresser 122 andsuitable electrical control circuitry 124. The operation is like that inFIG. 11. Thus the impulse repeater 86 is sequentially actuated to impelthe water in the bore 79 upwardly and in reaction generate powerfulthrusts on the bottom 82 to drive the pile 74 into the sediment. Therelease of the lowering cable may be accomplished by use of fracturableline's designed to fracture under a specified high load (greater thanthe weight of the pile) at a desired location such as near the pile orwith the use of a remotely controlled release mechanism. A cable line126 is used to pull up the tripod 118.

The underwater pile driving apparatus may be advantageously used in anydesired orientation. Thus horizontally installed piles are as easilyinstalled as vertical piles. With the horizontal installation of a pilethe tripod support may be aided with suitable support lines from theship. Since the horizontally oriented pile is as easily refilled withwater as the vertical pile the pile driving operation will be the same.

As an illustration of the powerfulthrust capability of the presentinvention the following example is given;

EXAMPLE Internal Diameter of Reaction Barrel l2 18 inches Length ofReaction Barrel I2 60 inches Length of Ram 14 20 feet Diameter of AnchorDisc 28 14 inches (Iompressed Air Charge Volume of Repeater 18 40 cubicin. High Pressure Compressed Air 2000 psi. At least percent of thecompressed air charge abruptly discharged within a time period of 2.0milliseconds. The compressed air charge released at 5 second intervals.

In this example the 14 inch anchor disc was driven down into thesedimentary type bottom beneath Long Island Sound to a depth exceeding 6feet. Subjected to a direct vertical pull on the anchor line 30, theanchor initially yielded a small distance to set it transversely to theline of pull. Thereafter it withstood a direct vertical pull on theanchor line in excess of 7,000 pounds for a period of one-half hourwithout significant movement.

While my invention has been shown and described in certain particularembodiments merely for the purpose of illustration, it will be clearlyunderstood that the general features of my invention may be applied toother arrangements without departing from the spirit of my invention andthe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

- 1. An apparatus for submerging an anchor into sediment located at thebottom of a body of water comprising a sediment penetratable anchorattached to an anchor chain, a reaction barrel, a ram connected to thereaction barrel and operatively coupled to the anchor, and an acousticimpulse repeater mounted within the reaction barrel.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the ram is releasabiycoupled to the anchor to retrieve the anchor submerging apparatus.

3. The apparatus asrecited in claim 1 wherein the reaction barrelcomprises a cup shaped chamber having an upwardly located opening forthe entry and ejection of water;

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 and further including guidingmeans comprising a pedestal, and a guiding sleeve supported by thepedestal, said guiding sleeve enclosing the ram in sliding relationshiptherewith over a length selected to guide the ram and anchor into thesediment.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4 and further including means forreleasably retaining the anchor chain to the reaction barrel. 7

6. An apparatus for submerging an anchor into sediment below a body ofwater comprising a sediment penetratable anchor attached to an anchorchain, a cup shaped reaction barrel having an upwardly located openingfor the entry and ejection of water, a ram connected to the barrel andreleasably operatively coupled to the anchor, an acoustic impulserepeater mounted within the reaction barrel, said acoustic repeaterbeing slidably mounted to the barrel, a pedestal'and a guiding sleevesupported by the pedestal, said guiding sleeve enclosing the ram insliding relationship over-a selected length of the ram to guide the ramand anchor into the sediment.

7. An apparatus for submerging an anchor into sediment below a body ofwater comprising a sediment penetratable anchor attached to an anchorline, a cupshaped reaction barrel having an upwardly located opening forthe entry and ejection of water, a ram connected to the barrel andreleasably operatively coupled to the anchor, an acoustic impulserepeater mounted within the reaction barrel, said acoustic repeaterbeing slidably mounted to the barrel, a pedestal and a guiding sleevesupported by the pedestal, said guiding sleeve enclosing the ram insliding relationship ever a selected length of the ram to guide the ramand anchor into the depending member and repeater in operativerelationsediment, said acoustic repeater being provided with a ship withthe reaction barre].

depending member slidably protruding through the bottom of the reactionbarrel, and said ram being provided with a bore sized to receive saiddepending mem- 5 her with radial clearance for the protruding end of theto the depending member, and stop means for retaining said 8. Theapparatus as recited in claim 7 and further including fracturable tabsto operatively hold the anchor

1. An apparatus for submerging an anchor into sediment located at thebottom of a body of water comprising a sediment penetratable anchorattached to an anchor chain, a reaction barrel, a ram connected to thereaction barrel and operatively coupled to the anchor, and an acousticimpulse repeater mounted within the reaction barrel.
 2. The apparatus asrecited in claim 1 wherein the ram is releasably coupled to the anchorto retrieve the anchor submerging apparatus.
 3. The apparatus as recitedin claim 1 wherein the reaction barrel comprises a cup shaped chamberhaving an upwardly located opening for the entry and ejection of water.4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 and further including guidingmeans comprising a pedestal, and a guiding sleeve supported by thepedestal, said guiding sleeve enclosing the ram in sliding relationshiptherewith over a length selected to guide the ram and anchor into thesediment.
 5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4 and further includingmeans for releasably retaining the anchor chain to the reaction barrel.6. An apparatus for submerging an anchor into sediment below a body ofwater comprising a sediment penetratable anchor attached to an anchorchain, a cup shaped reAction barrel having an upwardly located openingfor the entry and ejection of water, a ram connected to the barrel andreleasably operatively coupled to the anchor, an acoustic impulserepeater mounted within the reaction barrel, said acoustic repeaterbeing slidably mounted to the barrel, a pedestal and a guiding sleevesupported by the pedestal, said guiding sleeve enclosing the ram insliding relationship over a selected length of the ram to guide the ramand anchor into the sediment.
 7. An apparatus for submerging an anchorinto sediment below a body of water comprising a sediment penetratableanchor attached to an anchor line, a cup-shaped reaction barrel havingan upwardly located opening for the entry and ejection of water, a ramconnected to the barrel and releasably operatively coupled to theanchor, an acoustic impulse repeater mounted within the reaction barrel,said acoustic repeater being slidably mounted to the barrel, a pedestaland a guiding sleeve supported by the pedestal, said guiding sleeveenclosing the ram in sliding relationship over a selected length of theram to guide the ram and anchor into the sediment, said acousticrepeater being provided with a depending member slidably protrudingthrough the bottom of the reaction barrel, and said ram being providedwith a bore sized to receive said depending member with radial clearancefor the protruding end of the depending member, and stop means forretaining said depending member and repeater in operative relationshipwith the reaction barrel.
 8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 andfurther including fracturable tabs to operatively hold the anchor to theram.